About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 1 (January 6, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegvm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing I e flve debate sin ce 1914 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Overview What is AGOA? AGOA (P.L. 106-200, as amended), a cornerstone of U.S. trade policy toward sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, is a nonreciprocal U.S. trade preference program that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for most exports from eligible sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to preferential market access, the act also requires an annual forum, known as the AGOA forum, held between U.S. and AGOA country officials to discuss trade-related issues. Additionally, AGOA provides direction to select U.S. government agencies regarding their trade and investment support activities in the region. Which countries are eligible? AGOA lists 49 sub-Saharan African countries that are potential candidates for program benefits. AGOA eligibility criteria address issues such as trade and investment policy, governance, worker rights, and human rights, among other issues, which countries must satisfy to be beneficiaries of the program. The President annually reviews and determines each country's eligibility. There are currently 36 AGOA-eligible countries. In a December 2021 proclamation, President Biden terminated AGOA preference benefits for Ethiopia, Guinea, and Mali, effective January 1, 2022. The President found these countries failed to meet eligibility requirements regarding human rights (Ethiopia, Mali), political pluralism and the rule of law (Guinea, Mali), and worker rights (Mali). Ten other sub-Saharan African countries remain ineligible for the program's preference benefits in 2022. They include (with noted eligibility violations): Burundi (political violence), Cameroon (human rights), Equatorial Guinea (income graduation), Eritrea (human rights), Mauritania (worker rights), Seychelles (income graduation), Somalia (never eligible), South Sudan (political violence), Sudan (never eligible), and Zimbabwe (never eligible). In addition, Rwanda's AGOA benefits for apparel exports have been suspended since July 31, 2018, following an out-of-cycle eligibility determination in response to increased tariff barriers on used clothing imports from the United States. What is the authorization status? AGOA was first established by Congress in 2000 and has been amended several times. The Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, P.L. 114-27, extended AGOA's authorization for ten years to September 2025. The African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act of 2018, P.L. 115-167, required the Administration to provide information on AGOA through an official AGOA website, promote AGOA utilization, product diversification, and regional cooperation, and educate African entrepreneurs. What is the goal? Through AGOA, the U.S. Congress seeks to increase U.S. trade and investment with the region, promote sustainable economic growth through trade, and encourage the rule of law and market-oriented reforms. Updated January 6, 2022 Supporting views. Supporters of AGOA argue that the program affords African producers an important competitive advantage in the U.S. market, thereby enabling exports, encouraging investment in the region, boosting private sector activity and economic growth, and ultimately generating demand for U.S. goods and services as the region's economies develop. Opposing views. Opposition is mostly from U.S. producers that may face increased import competition from AGOA countries. Such concerns are generally limited due to the low volume of U.S. imports under AGOA, but import competing U.S. producers have lobbied to keep certain products, particularly sugar, out of the program. U.S. !mports under AGOA Total U.S. AGOA imports were $4.2 billion in 2020, down 51% from $8.4 billion in 2019, due mostly to a decline in crude oil imports. Imports remain concentrated in few countries and industries, but diversification has grown. Energy product imports (e.g., crude oil) declined by 85% in 2020 to $707 million, and accounted for 17% of AGOA imports. This represents a significant shift, as such imports historically accounted for the vast majority of AGOA imports (e.g., $48 billion at their 2011 peak). Nigeria was the top supplier of energy products in 2020 ($474 million). AGOA non-energy imports declined by 10% in 2020 to $3.4 billion, but have tripled since the program began in 2001. Top non-energy import categories include textiles and apparel ($1.2 billion), motor vehicles ($651 million), agricultural products ($627 million), minerals and metals ($336 million), and chemicals ($332 million). South Africa is the top supplier of AGOA non-energy imports (Figure 1), but its dominance has declined. Decreasing motor vehicle imports from South Africa and increasing apparel imports from other top countries are the main trends underlying this shift. Figure I.Top AGOA Countries, Non-Energy Products South Africa Kenya Lesotho U 2020 Ethiopia* 2019 Madagascar Others $ in millions o 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Source: Analysis by CRS. Data from USITC. Note: Ethiopia is ineligible for AGOA preferences in 2022.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most